No charges after gun spotted in teacher's vehicle at Columbus East

COLUMBUS, Ind. -- The Bartholomew County prosecutor decided Tuesday not to press charges against a Columbus East teacher who was suspended after a gun was spotted in his truck on March 1.

Prosecutor Bill Nash says he did not feel he could prove that the teacher knew the gun was in his vehicle.

The teacher was coyote hunting on Feb. 29 and left the gun in their vehicle, said Larry Perkinson, the student assistance director at the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation.

Two students were moving materials outside, saw the gun, and reported it to school officials, Perkinson said. It is unknown what kind of gun was in the vehicle.

The 11-year veteran of the school was suspended without pay through March 29 and will be allowed to return to teaching on April 2

Since the teacher was not charged, RTV6 chose not to identify him.

Indiana state law states that a person who legally possesses a gun
and leaves it in plain view in a vehicle parked on school property commits a Class A misdemeanor. The penalties for such a crime are up to 365 days in jail with a maximum fine of $5,000.